A very, very (very) small sample from John Glenn's 1962 Mercury capsule "Friendship 7" is set to launch to the International Space Station as part of an experiment organized by professional cheerleaders.

The microbial spacecraft sample — literally, the bacteria Pantoea eucrina — is among 48 microbes swabbed from a variety of historical places (like the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum) and sports stadiums that will be compared for the rate at which they grow in space.

The swabbing was led by Science Cheerleader, a group of current and former NFL and NBA cheerleaders pursuing careers in science and technology. The organization plays off public stereotypes to encourage participation in citizen science activities.

SpaceX Dragon splashes down off the coast of CA with (part of) Project MERCCURI on board!

A month after launching to the International Space Station, one-third of Project MERCCURI returned to Earth yesterday afternoon (May 18) aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

Dragon was detached from the International Space Station using a robotic arm controlled by the astronauts. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California.

In the capsule, along with other experiments and supplies, were microbes the crew swabbed from high-touch surfaces inside the Space Station. Those surface samples will be sequenced at Argonne National Lab and compared to other samples collected from buildings here on Earth!

Forty eight of the Earth-based samples, collected at Science Cheerleader and SciStarter events, are still on the Space Station where their growth rates are being compared to each other and to their counterparts at the Eisen Lab (University of California, Davis, CA).

The third part of this study involved thousands of samples collected by citizen scientists across the country. These samples came from shoes and cell phones. The microbes will also be sequenced at Argonne National Lab and fed into the Earth Microbiome Map!